


Welcom'in

by TheCarrot



Series: The Midnighter's [1]
Category: Midnight Texas (TV)
Genre: Badass EVERYONE, Badass Manfred, Badass Rev, Gen, Manfred can't sleep, so he does something nice for Lem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 15:32:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12279354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCarrot/pseuds/TheCarrot
Summary: Manfred can't sleep so he decides to make something for Lem.





	Welcom'in

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like it's been forever since I've written anything, let alone finished it! But Midnight Texas was sooo goooddd!! I couldn't help myself though so sorry if it sucks.

\--

It’s been a full two nights...almost three now, that Manfred has found himself sitting at the small table in his kitchen, laptop open in front of him and a beer hanging loosely from his fingers. Creek is asleep in the bedroom, tired from her shift and Manfred is glad at least one of them is getting any sleep at all.

He taps the space bar waking up the screen from where it had gone dark as he lost himself in his thoughts. Thoughts that, frankly, even he thought were odd. Seeing as how they centered around a certain newly married vampire. Manfred wasn’t sure how much of those thoughts he could chalk up to sleep deprivation, versus the sinking feeling he had gotten seeing the sad, accepting look on Lemuel's face as Fiji invited everyone over for dinner. 

Because he couldn't go. 

Not inside.

Her house, his house; where no dead thing could enter.

Manfred really hopes, but already knows that the reason he can’t sleep is due to the look on Lem’s face; it was one he knew all too well. That feeling of exclusion. The hurt deep inside but no one noticed because they didn’t really mean to do it. 

So he had cracked his neck, grabbed his great-great grandma’s book of charms and sat down at his kitchen table. 

He feels like he hasn’t moved since then. Even Creek was looking a bit concerned before she headed off to bed but Manfred can’t shake the feeling like theres something he can do here. What it is, he’s not sure yet.

With a sigh, the psychic reaches out for his beer once more but pauses as his ring thunks against the aluminum can. Setting down the beer he holds his hand up to eye level and frowns at the light reflecting off of the black ring he wore on his middle finger. An idea strikes him then (and honestly it was so simple he’ll be kicking himself later) as he pulls the ring from his hand and the book out from under his laptop. The pages get flipped wildly and if Manfred wasn't sure that they had survived things this long, he would have been more careful with the worn pages. As it is, Manfred knows what this book has gone through and so he has no qualms about bending pages and cracking the back binding. 

He lets out a triumphant, albeit quiet, cheer when the page he wants falls open. Holding the black metal up once more Manfred nods to himself. “Yeah, this will work...” 

-

The ring had once been a limiter of his, before he had moved on to the tattoos and back when he needed help suppressing his powers. He had been and always will be able to see and interact with the dead; but the premonitions and retrocogntion had been too much for him when he was a child. Xlyda had gotten him the rings and earrings as a precaution back then. 

Manfred smiles down at the ring, now sitting harmlessly on the counter of the RV, a circle of mountain ash and holy water surrounding it. The ring had glowed red, then bright blue and finally white before returning to it’s normal black colour. Cautiously the psychic picks it up, already it feels different, instead of constricting...it feels welcoming.

A wave of exhaustion hits Manfred and he slumps back against the other side of the decrepit van. “Jesus Christ,” he curses, rubbing his eyes as a headache starts to form behind them. He blindly reaches for the pill bottle in his pocket, downing one dry before sighing heavily. “Right. Ring, Bed, sleep.”

The psychic pockets the pill bottle once more, grabbing the ring as he heads out of the RV and across the yard. Manfred is thankful for the first time in his short life here that the pawn shop isn’t all that far away. He still hates going inside it.

“Hey Lem, you got a second?” He says aloud, knowing the vampire will hear him from inside the shop. 

Sure enough, by the time he gets to the front step of the pawn shop Lemuel was stepping out to meet him.

“It’s a little late for you to be awake isn’t it?” Lem chuckled taking in Manfred's mused hair and pale complexion in the neon light. “Trouble sleeping?”

Manfred shrugs, expression blasé as he tosses the ring in his hand at the vampire. 

Lem catches it without fail and stares at it in confusion. “Thanks, but I already got married this month, and you’re not my type.” He jokes eyeing the ring. Manfred give him an unamused look, he was everybody's type thank you very much.

“Very funny, I just made it for you.” Brown eyes meet electric blue and Manfred just wants to go to sleep now that his brain will shut up and let him.

“I thought I smelled magic a moment ago,” Lemuel states holding the black metal up to inspect further. “What does it do?”

“Just call it a wedding present.” Manfred waves him off with a tired smile. “Just keep it on you, but like, you don't have to wear it, it should work with proximity alone but, ugh- I am too tired for this. I’ll explain it all later,” The psychic sways on the spot before turning and starting back towards his house. Back to his bed and Creek.

Lem watches him for a moment before quirking a lip up in a more genuine smirk then he wanted. “Go get some sleep then, like a normal person.” 

Manfred’s sharp laughter echoes back at the vampire and Lemuel goes back to the ring he’s holding. It smells overwhelmingly like magic but he slips it into the breast pocket of his dress shirt. Far be it for him to refuse any gift from a Bernardo.

-

Manfred doesn’t get to explain the ring before shit hits the fan. He fell asleep next to Creek almost the moment he lays down and had ended up sleeping through most of the next day. Then a dead body showed up, clawed to ribbons and seemingly dropped into a pile in the middle of the road from above. Everyone had spent the next night combing through the woods before Bobo and Olivia stumbled across a human sized hawk with glowing red eyes pecking at the remaining bits of another corpse. The two humans had tried their best to take down the deranged animal but it had taken off, almost with Bobo’s head, before the others could arrive.

“Let me guess,” Manfred sighs looking at the group gathered around the back table at Home Cooking. “Tonights full moon is only going to make this thing stronger?”

Emilio gives the younger man a wry smile and slides the book he was reading across the table. “Yes, very much so.” He could feel the pull on him already, and was thankful that his set up beneath the church was ready to go.

“Great.” Olivia flops back in her chair, flinging her legs up onto Lem’s as her eyes fall shut. “Just wonderful.”

The vampire lays a hand on her leg, rubbing at her skin through one of the many holes in Olivia’s jeans as he meets the Reverends eyes, “Full moon means you’ll be out of the picture, and this thing is going to be out on the hunt again.”

“Yes,” Emilio nods. “According to that grimoire it’s going to go for as many people as it can to sustain itself until the next full moon.”

Bobo flips another page in his own book and does his best not to disturb Fiji whom had passed out on his shoulder a few hours prior. He didn’t have the heart to wake her, nor had any of the others. “Don’t suppose it says how to get rid of it does it?”

“Says Fire...”

The awake members of the Midnighters turn to look at Manfred who is hunching over the book Emilio had slid towards him. 

“You guys are still here?!” Creek hisses as she comes into the back room, coffee pot in one hand and dish towel in the other. “I distinctly remember sending you home over an hour ago!” 

Manfred slides down in his seat a bit more at his girlfriends wrath and none of the others are willing to meet her eyes either.

“Honestly.” Creek shakes her head, setting the coffee urn down next to Bobo who eyes it like he could down the entire thing right now without hesitation. “This thing only comes out at night right? Go home. Get some sleep.” The human urges closing the book in front of her boyfriend. “None of you are going to be any good against this thing if you’re exhausted.”

The group exchange looks, some amused, others tired and defeated but slowly, together they get to their feet. Bobo slings Fiji into his arms with a sweet smile on his face and heads for the witches house. Lemuel and Olivia link arms already dreaming of their silk sheets. 

“You’re such a mom.” Manfred chuckles getting up at the same time the Reverend does. Creek swats at him with her towel, “You off soon?”

“A couple of hours.” Creek replies with a skeptical glare. “Now go home and go to bed, you’ve been up all night again, God knows what all these sleepless nights will do to you.” She ruffles his hair and gives him a kiss before shooing the two leftover men out. 

Manfred smiles as he catches up to Emilio, “Good, I’ll walk out with you then.”

The Reverend holds the door open for them as they leave and nods, “Actually, if you don’t mind?” Emilio eyes the cellar beside his church.

They psychic beside him frowns and Manfred feels a pang of sorrow hit him, “Already? It’s only afternoon.”

“Yes, but with this thing on the loose, Lemuel and Olivia will have their hands full,” the priest explains as they walk down the street, the texan sun beating down on them. “I don't want you to have any distractions.”

Manfred holds his breath for a moment but nods, heart sinking a little at the thought of having to do this to Emilio every time. “So whats for lunch?” He tries to sound amused but fails, a different type of tiredness seeping into him all over again.

Emilio shakes his head at the younger man but gives him a smile regardless at the attempt. “Beef.” Then he steps away toward the church.

The psychic chokes on his air trying not to laugh and follows after him.

\--

To say the fight against the giant demonic hawk doesn’t go well...would be an understatement.

Lem’s duster has a new split down the back and his pants dyed red from already healed wounds. Running next to him Olivia is out both her rifle and one of her two favourite handguns, both lost when the hawk swooped at her, talons out and ready to eat. She's ready to stuff the goddamn thing and install a fireplace just to put it’s big feathery ass over. She tells everyone as much.

Fiji’s wearing the biggest ‘pissed off girlfriend’ look any of them have ever seen as she sends another fireball at the large bird that had gone for Bobo’s head again. The man has been in a protective hunch pretty much ever since and the Wiccan hasn’t stopped throwing fireballs at the demon even if none of them have been a direct hit. Bobo, bless him, is still firing at the bird when it dodges Fiji’s attacks. His bullets don’t do much but it’s the only hit any of them are getting in at the moment so he doesn’t stop.

Creek and Manfred are the ones leading the retreat back into town, having been the ones to stumble onto the demonic hawk first this go. The bird had reached for Creek but the human unloaded her shotgun into it, deviating it away and much to her chagrin, towards Manfred. The sight of her boyfriend getting rammed into a tree trunk will stick with her for a while; the sound of it even more so.

“My House!” Fiji shouts as they enter Midnights city limits. The don’t have far to go but with the demon on their tail it feels like it takes forever until Creek is shoving open the door to her friends place and helping Manfred to lean against Fiji’s counter.

The rest barrel inside but Olivia skids to a halt next to her husband. “Will you make it home safe?” She asks letting the worry slip into her features for barely a moment. 

Lem bends down, kissing her in reply and shooing her towards the witches house. Olivia backs away slowly, watching the hawk circle overhead. “I’ll run fast.” He promises.

Manfred looks up when Olivia throws the door shut behind her, immediately going over to the window to keep watch. “Where’s Lem?” His back screams at him when he moves away from the counter but he has the sinking feeling like he forgot to do something kinda important.

Olivia sends him a death glare but it’s Fiji who answers from her spot at the coffee table, hunched over a large tomb and scribbling designs onto small pieces of paper with a vengeance. “He can’t cross over into my house.

“Wha- yes he can. I gave him the thing.” Manfred knows he probably isn’t making much sense but the loud shrieking outside and the heavy sound of wings is growing louder and it’s making him nervous for the vampire who is still outside. 

“What thing?” Olivia snaps coming over to him.

Manfred doesn’t mean to ignore the blonde but he finally sees what Fiji is and he perks up significantly. “Are those fire spells?” 

Fiji gives him a sharp smirk and mutters a ‘oh yeah’ under her breath as she hands the psychic a handful. 

Outside they hear Lem roar and Manfred looks at Olivia over his shoulder. “Guns?” He's really starting to get into the whole Texas thing when he has to fight the supernatural. “I’m going to go get Lem.”

There’s a chorus of worried voices behind him but Manfred is already out the door so he just kind of ignores them. 

-

Lem stares down the demonic bird and watches impassively as it lunges at him. He was so close to home too; but he’s ready for the claws to dig into him, to bite back in return. However just as the talons reach him, a warm, solid body crashes into him, dragging him down to the ground. The fresh scent of Manfred's blood reaches his nose as they tumble onto the gravel. 

Above them the hawk-demon screeches loudly and Lemuel scrambles to his feet in time to see Manfred do the same, both of them covered in dirt and dust.

They psychic digs into his pocket and pulls out one of Fiji’s small crumpled up paper and holds it up to the oncoming bird. He shouts a word that Lemuel doesn’t understand and the paper bursts into flames, a stream shooting out and catching the feathers of their attacker. 

Lemuel stares at Manfred in shock for a moment, the younger man looking delighted despite himself. It only lasts a moment however as Manfred suddenly reaches out and grabs hold of Lem’s arm and starts to drag the vampire down the road. 

“How did you do that?” Lem shouts to be heard over the horrific shrill noises the hawk is letting out.

Manfred pants heavily as he runs past the pawn shop. “Magic stuff.” He shoves his friend behind him once more and whips around, another paper clutched in his hand as the demon swoops in for another attack. Manfred can feel the claws catch his jacket, and the skin beneath before fire engulfs the large bird, catching most of it’s feathers this time. Cursing aloud Manfred slips backwards, grabbing hold of the vampires duster and hauling him towards his house. He’s slightly surprised Lem hasn’t cut his arm off for all the pulling he’s doing.

“I can’t-” Lem starts, pace slowing but Manfred just keeps pulling the stubborn dead man with him. Lem’s really not looking forward to hitting that particular forcefield of Fiji’s. 

Manfred just growls in frustration and in his own show of stubbornness, has them up the front steps and crashing bodily into the front door. The psychic fights with the doorknob for a second before it gives and he’s all but throwing Lem into his house and slamming the door behind him as they hit the floor in a heap. Manfred gives a second to thank whatever or whoever is listening, that the ring actually worked, just as the loud sound of something hitting his front door echoes through his house. 

Lem looks up in shock where he and Manfred lay sprawled in the front entrance of the young psychics house...from...inside... The vampire gives himself a moment to look around in surprise, before looking at Manfred who is crawlling over towards his couch on all fours, face lined with a strange mixture of relief and fear, muttering under his breath. “guns...guns.. guns...” Oh yeah, Olivia was rubbing off on the boy.

The front door gives another crunch and smoke billows into the house as the hawk rams the door again. Lemuel moves, vampire speed having him up and bracing the door with his shoulder before Manfred even sees him turn towards it.

The vampire is still looking at him however when he starts to ask “How did you-?” But he’s suddenly cut off as the phone in Manfred's pocket goes off. 

Manfred answers it, jamming it between his shoulder and cheek just as he pulls out a thin metal case from under the couch. “What?!...Yes, we're fine.” He slides one of the Glocks that was inside the case into the back of his pants and passes the second to Lem.

Lem shifts his stance as the front door lurches, the hawk diving at the entrance again. He can feel the wood starting to splinter and catch fire and can only imagine what the front porch looks like.

“No, stay where you are...I have a plan...” Manfred says and over the line Olivia curses. 

“Am I going to hate it?” Lem can hear her ask and he smirks at the phone from his spot when it’s followed by the sound of a shotgun cocking. 

“No...” Manfred casts a grimace at Lemuel, steeling himself. “But the Rev is...” 

Lemuel raises an eyebrow at the gall the psychic is showing as the younger man hangs up the phone. “He’s going to kill you.” he states simply,

“Probably.” Manfred rubs at his arm where the hawks talons had cut through the leather. The bleeding has pretty much stopped and later he’ll let himself bemoan the loss of his favourite jacket, but for now he’s thinking about how he wants to have a very large cat chase a very large bird. “And I will totally let him...tomorrow.”

The vampire shakes his head and with simultaneous nods, both he and Manfred duck out the front door heading toward the church and the dull roars coming from beneath. 

\--

Lemuel stands with his arm over Olivia’s shoulder as they watch the tiger in front of them bat around the giant demonic hawk, feathers flying everywhere.

“Chicken and Beef...” Manfred mutters to himself with a shake of his head. He presses his lips together as Bobo and Fiji look at him oddly. Creek just covers her mouth with a disgusted sound. “So I'm going to die tomorrow aren’t I?”

Fiji tilts her head to the side and shares a look with Bobo, who was watching the Tiger tear apart the bird with a morbid fasination. She’s happy she got to get a couple of shots in before Emilio had pounced of the demon. “Eh...he- it’s...hard to say...” She gulps a bit as a wing gets torn off. “That’s just nasty.”

“So that didn’t take long at all.” Olivia says in the same tone she used when they found out about Joe. Giving herself a small shake she turns to stare up at her husband. “Hey, where'd you guys go anyway? When I called Manfred after he ran out of Fiji’s.”

The psychic in question sees Lem look at him out of the corner of his eye, and Manfred just sends an inquisitive glance back. “Oh, just somewhere safe.” The Vampire chuckles, his bright blue eyes shining with something Olivia hasn’t seen since their wedding day. Something like amazement and gratitude. “I’ll show you later.”

Manfred rolls his eyes at Lem and looks back to the giant tiger, who seems to be playing with the dead demonic hawk as much as it continues to munch on other parts of it. The younger man doesn’t want to look to closely at it though, his stomach turning a little at the crunch of bone. “Okay, I'm out, I need a shower...” He groans.

“I am with you one hundred percent.” Creek mutters as she nods repeatedly next to him. It’s when she links her arm with his and he hisses that Lem chimes in.

“By the way you should get that arm looked at.” 

Olivia peers around Lem's shoulder to see Manfred clutch his forearm closer to him and glare at the Vampire. Creek however is already pulling back the ripped leather jacket to inspect her boyfriends arm. Which hurts, given the way Manfred hisses at the action, dried blood attaching cloth to skin. 

_‘Well now, this is more like it.’_

Manfred head shoots up and Creek freezes as he looks around wildly. 

“What is it?” She asks, looking around for herself as the others tense up behind her. 

The psychic opens his mouth to explain about the voice, but as he looks around the clearing, he realizes... there aren’t any ghosts around. Manfred doesn’t know where the voice came from; and it throws him. 

“Uh-I...I just had the thought about how we’re going to get the Rev back to the church.” He lies instead, rolling his sleeve back down.

“We can just wait for him to change back.” Fiji offers, eyes still on the giant Tiger.

It’s a moot offer a moment later however, when the were-Tiger pauses in his snack and looks around at the humans gathered around it. 

_‘Idiots.’_

Manfred feels his heart swoop when he realizes he may actually know where the voice is coming from. Olivia has her guns up the second the tiger gets up, but the cat just moves around the larger part of the dead carcass, hooking it’s teeth into it and starts dragging it away. 

They watch it for a moment before realizing where it was going.

Towards the church.

Manfred doesn’t think, just follows the Tiger back towards the open cellar door that he hadn’t bothered to close before. The full moon reflecting off the chain that lays in tatters where Lem had ripped it apart and thrown it off to the side in their rush. The group of Midnighter’s watch in fascination as the Tiger throws the hawk it had been dragging down the cellar stairs. It sits for a moment on the top stair and seems to look over each of them in turn before zeroing in on Manfred. 

_‘Next time psychic.’_

Lemuel watches the tiger disappear willingly down the steps and for the life of him, he can’t remember the last time the Tiger had been so calm. He wonders if Emilio is just getting better control or if there was more to Manfred’s little head jerk back in the clearing. The vampire feels his wife lower her weapons shooting him curious glances. He shrugs back in response, not having to speak to tell her he doesn’t have answers to any of her questions. 

Inside his pocket the ring buzzes with left over magic and he can’t wait to show Olivia. Lem thinks he might even start wearing it. 

“That’s it, I'm out. Goodnight, goodbye and all that shit.” Manfred curses out as he takes hold of Creeks hand and starts back towards his house leaving everyone else behind. 

Fiji and Bobo both laugh, moving as one to close the cellar doors.

Lem lets out a deep chuckle. “See you tomorrow.” And he will. As soon as the sun sets tomorrow night, the vampire is going to test out his new ability to cross over the magic field surrounding the psychic’s house. 

He may even bring wine.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't be afraid to leave a comment, good or bad.


End file.
